Raised on George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris, she sang harmonies as a toddler, eventually thinking she'd make a career of it. Following the murder-suicide of her parents (perpetrated by her father) in 1986, she moved into her aunt and uncle's home.
Not long afterwards, sister Shelby Lynne moved to Nashville for a career in music, and after her high school graduation, Moorer followed. She sang harmonies with her sister for a while but returned to Alabama to earn a degree in public relations. She skipped the graduation ceremony to move back to Nashville.
Her song "A Soft Place to Fall" was tapped for Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer in 1998, and she also appeared in the movie. Because the ballad earned her an Academy Award nomination, she performed it on the 1999 Oscars ceremony. However, none of her singles from her debut "Alabama Song" or its follow-up "The Hardest Part" received much radio airplay, nor achieving chart success though both projects were highly praised by critics.
When Brown moved from MCA to sister label Universal South, Moorer followed. Her 2002 album "Miss Fortune" earned more raves, but didn't meet sales expectations. She almost got another big break by recording the duet "Picture" with Kid Rock after Sheryl Crow had bowed out. However, Crow changed her mind, and the Rock/Crow-version became a huge radio hit. Yet, the song was credited on the charts to both Crow and Moorer. In addition, the CD single featuring Moorer sold 500,000 copies and is certified Gold by the RIAA. Her ballad "Tumbling Down" (from Miss Fortune) was featured on the soundtrack of the popular 2002 film The Rookie.
Her live album album "Show"(2003) was recorded in one night (two performances) at the 12th and Porter in Nashville and despite popular belief, it features the first recorded collaboration by both Moorer sisters.
After releasing Show and a DVD on Universal South, Moorer moved to independent label Sugar Hill Records. With a slightly rougher edge than past efforts, The Duel was released in April 2004.
After a divorce between Moorer and Primm, she eventually married Steve Earle, after serving as his opening act on a European tour. Earle produced her 2006 album, "Getting Somewhere". Moorer wrote all the songs, with the exception of one co-written with Earle. She and Earle were nominated for a Grammy award in the category Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for the song "Days Aren't Long Enough" from Earle's "Washington Square Serenade".
Moorer released the Buddy Miller-produced "Mockingbird" in February 2008; an album mainly of covers of songs by female singer/songwriters including her sister, Shelby Lynne.
Her latest studio album "Crows" (2010), features her first departure from the Contemporary Country style of her earlier albums, instead changing to a Pop and Contemporary Singer/Songwriter style.
http://allisonmoorer.com
Back Of My Mind
Allison Moorer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Put you there so I could give
Myself a little space
But you won't ever be erased
From the back of my mind
Back of my mind
I moved on best I could
Just a step at a time
When I stop it's always fine
For you in the back of my mind
Back of my mind
Time goes by in the blink of an eye
Healing broken things
Mending broken wings
Day by day the heartache starts to fade
It used to be every thought every dream
Every memory every in between
Now you're gone
Put you're back where you belong
There's a place where you live
Put you there so I could give
Myself a little space
But you won't ever be erased
From the back of my mind
Back of my mind
In Allison Moorer's song Back Of My Mind, she speaks about a memory that she can't seem to shake off even after moving on. The song starts with her saying that there is a place where her ex-lover lives, and it's just so she can have a little space. However, her ex-lover will never be erased from the back of her mind. The chorus repeats this notion, with the lyrics "But you won't ever be erased from the back of my mind." Moorer then goes on to say that she moved on the best she could, even though her father thought she wouldn't be able to. She takes it one step at a time, and whenever she stops, it's always fine. However, this memory still lives on in the back of her mind.
In the second verse, Moorer speaks about how time flies, and broken things and wings heal. Day by day, the heartache starts to fade, but it's not an overnight process. She speaks about how this memory used to be every thought, dream, memory, and in-between moments. However, now that person is gone, she has put them back where they belong – in the back of her mind.
Overall, the song speaks about how even though Moorer has moved on, this memory is still alive within her. It is not something she can simply forget, but it is a part of her that she has to learn to live with.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a place where you live
There is a mental space where the memories of you reside.
Put you there so I could give
Myself a little space
I purposely placed those memories there to help me feel some distance.
But you won't ever be erased
From the back of my mind
Back of my mind
Despite my efforts to distance myself, my thoughts of you will always linger.
I moved on best I could
Father there thought I would
Just a step at a time
When I stop it's always fine
For you in the back of my mind
Back of my mind
I tried my best to move on, taking it slow and steady; but even when I do stop to think or feel, you're still there in my thoughts.
Time goes by in the blink of an eye
Healing broken things
Mending broken wings
Day by day the heartache starts to fade
Time passes quickly and eventually helps to heal the pain and fix the damage caused by the past.
It used to be every thought every dream
Every memory every in between
Now you're gone
Put you're back where you belong
Previously, thoughts of you consumed me entirely, but now I've let you go and placed your memory back where it belongs.
There's a place where you live
Put you there so I could give
Myself a little space
But you won't ever be erased
From the back of my mind
Back of my mind
Even though I placed your memory in a mental space, it will never truly be erased from my thoughts.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALLISON MOORER, NEIL MEDLEY, SKIP BLACK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind